Presidents Statement

March 2026

I am getting to this late as we have been hectically working to prepare and finalize the SD Museum of Art Artists Guild-Atelier exhibit. It is amazing how many moving parts there are to a quality multi dimensional community gallery event.

The exhibition is at the Tularosa Gallery on 26th and Imperial Avenue, opening Saturday March 21, 4-7PM. In addition to the art of 17 Guild artists who have been working together as the “Atelier” for over 4 months to create work on the concept “One Day n the Life of Imperial Ave” a conceptual art intervention, this effort is being produced in partnership with the Barrio Artists Partnership, a community nonprofit working to create an arts district on Imperial. This event will kick off their campaign.

They have been funded by Prebys Foundation and agreed to provide $500 stipends to each artist for their effort. The exhibit will be up until March 29. It will then move to Gallery 21 in Balboa Park and, with additional new art, open April 7-20.

The Atelier is an ongoing effort of the Guild to create new opportunities for Guild artists to create and exhibit their art. In case you haven’t heard we have published and printed a complete catalogue of the art and artists for the exhibition. It was paid for by an unbelievable but much appreciate anonymous donation of $1200 by a fellow Guild artist.

In addition to the Atelier, board member Kevin Inman has initiated a Guild Artists Incubator. The idea of the incubator is to develop additional venues for Guild artists to exhibit and sell their work. Kevin will work to access various venues throughout San Diego who agree to exhibit artists work without a formal, competitive curatorial process and without a formal event opening, for various periods of time for the purpose of selling the art.

To date he has identified three locations. Further information will be available by email to members and/or the web site.   Kevin also continues the monthly figure drawing classes at MOPA. In addition, he has agreed to recruit both models and artists to participate in the Museums Art Alive exhibit with models in costume strolling through scheduled events and activities available to be sketched. Stay tuned for that! (April 25-26). 

The Exhibitions Committee has been hard at work negotiating new galleries for curated exhibitions. They have signed on with Union Hall in San Diego for a June exhibition, “The Art of Now “in June. They are negotiating for a membership-only exhibition at Shift Gallery for November. Our regular International Online Exhibition will be held in the fall as well.  Negotiations are also underway for April for an exhibit in Escondido.     

And much more to come as board members work diligently with the goal in mind “created opportunities for Guild members to exhibit (and sell) their every imaginative art”.

Finally, and I’ve saved the best news for last the Board at its March 3 meeting unanimously appointed a new board member Jennifer Byrne. Jennifer has jumped right in with her amazing graphics skills and prepared the artists’ images and narratives for publication and had  a major role in designing the whole catalogue. Wait ‘til you see it in printed form. Come to the show to get one.

Jim Bliesner

President